Vice President, Events and Marketing: Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence

Salary: $110K – $120K commensurate with experience

AGENCY OVERVIEW

JOIN A FORWARD-THINKING AGENCY THAT SEEKS TO ENSURE THAT ALL YOUTH ACHIEVE THEIR FULL POTENTIAL. Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence (BBBSI) is the largest BBBS agency in the state and fourth largest in the nation. Our mission is to ignite the power and promise of youth and close the mentoring gap, by creating and supporting one-to-one mentoring relationships and strengthening the quality of the mentoring field. You will love it here if you (1) set the bar high, (2) are intentional and thoughtful about their choices, (3) collaborate as a means to community solutions, (4) are positive, can-do, and solution-oriented, (5) embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion, and (6) are accountable and get it done.

POSITION SUMMARY

As the Vice President, Events and Marketing at BBBSI, you will play a key leadership role in advancing the organization’s brand, communications, and—critically—fundraising through special events. Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer (COO), this leadership position requires strategic marketing expertise, fundraising event management, and ability to raise significant funds through event committees within the Philadelphia community. You will oversee all aspects of BBBSI’s marketing, communications, and event efforts, with a focus on growing and managing high-impact fundraising and programmatic events. This includes cultivating relationships with sponsors, donors, and event committees, while driving marketing strategies to enhance program and fundraising visibility and engagement. You will also support Regional Advisory Boards and the Alumni Committee. You will lead a team of two Coordinators, collaborating internally, with volunteer committees, donors, and stakeholders to ensure successful events that align with BBBSI’s mission and financial goals. Candidates must demonstrate strong connections within the Philadelphia community and have proven experience managing events that drive significant financial impact. Occasional travel to community partners, events, and conferences is required, along with some night and weekend work.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Team Leadership: Lead, manage, and inspire your team, including 3rd party consultants, to achieve marketing, communications, and fundraising goals. Foster accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Strategy Development: Develop and implement a comprehensive marketing, communications, and fundraising events strategy that promotes BBBSI’s programs, mission, vision, value, and impact, while driving engagement and revenue.
• Community Engagement: Cultivate and maintain strong relationships within the Philadelphia region, engaging sponsors, donors, event committees, and volunteers to support BBBSI’s events and mission.
• Portfolio Oversight: Oversee the planning, execution, and evaluation of all marketing, communications, and special events efforts, with focus on maximizing fundraising revenue and supporting volunteer recruitment.
• Process Management: Oversee calendars, timelines, budgets, and deliverables for marketing, communications, and events, ensuring tracking, forecasting, and reconciliation.
• Brand Management: Ensure consistent messaging and compelling storytelling that reflects BBBSI’s mission and enhances its visibility.
• Digital Strategy: Oversee the organization’s online presence, ensuring digital strategies support programmatic goals and donor engagement.
• Content Development: Lead the creation of compelling multi-media content to engage audiences, promote BBBSI’s programs, communicate impact, strengthen our value proposition, recruit volunteers, and drive both programmatic and fundraising efforts.
• Marketing Collateral: Develop and maintain marketing materials that support fundraising campaigns, donor stewardship, and volunteer engagement.
• Events Strategy Development: Develop and execute a comprehensive mission-driven events strategy, with a focus on high-profile events such as Fashion Touchdown, Annual Golf Classic, the Big Adventure, JEDI and Workplace Mentoring Summit, and/or new events as appropriate.
• Fundraising and Program Events: Oversee smaller-scale yet impactful events like Strategic Plan Breakfasts, The Big Thanks, and The Big Day Out, ensuring these events effectively support fundraising, programmatic objectives, and donor or volunteer engagement.
• Fundraising Goals: Set and achieve fundraising growth targets, managing event budgets and expenses to maximize financial returns.
• Event Committees: Lead and support volunteer fundraising event committees, engaging their networks to increase fundraising and event participation.
• Sponsor Relations: Develop and grow sponsor and donor relationships, actively pursuing new opportunities, and collaborating with the Advancement team to create tailored sponsorship packages. Ensure exceptional sponsor service and recognition.
• Advisory Board, Alumni, and 3rd Party Engagement: Support Regional Advisory Boards, Alumni Committee, and other third-party events, ensuring their efforts are aligned with BBBSI’s goals for special events, fundraising, and volunteer recruitment.
• Public Relations: Cultivate and maintain positive relationships with media and stakeholders to elevate BBBSI’s visibility, impact, and fundraising efforts.
• Event Communications: Ensure the marketing and communications strategies for special events maximize impact and fundraising outcomes.
• Thought Leadership: Position BBBSI as a leader in the mentoring field, using content and events to showcase expertise while building relationships with funders and partners.
• Data-Driven Insights: Monitor and analyze the effectiveness of marketing and fundraising efforts, using data to inform continuous improvement.
• Process Optimization: Streamline event planning and marketing processes to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Resource Development: Build a library of templates and resources to support marketing and event efforts, leveraging materials from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America where appropriate.
• CRM and Reporting: Ensure timely and effective use of the donor database/CRM and third-party tools for record-keeping, reconciliation, and forecasting, and reporting on event performance.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

If interested, please apply with resume and cover letter. Only those applicants believed to be viable candidates for this opportunity will be contacted. No phone calls or 3rd party solicitation please.

WHO SHOULD APPLY

At BBBSI, we serve many youth annually in Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania, and Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties in New Jersey. Our aspiration is to develop an organization that reflects our constituent base. We embrace justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI). We recognize, affirm, and celebrate the diverse backgrounds, lives, and experiences of all of our stakeholders, including youth, families, donors, volunteers, and staff. BBBSI is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, veteran status, first and second-generation immigrants, and people from low-income families, or any legally protected factor.

REQUIREMENTS

• Academic Requirements: Bachelor’s degree (preferred) or comparable experience.
• Skills and Professional Requirements: 10+ years of experience in senior marketing, communications, and event planning/fundraising, preferably in a nonprofit setting.
• Strong understanding of nonprofit marketing, with proven experience in event fundraising and sponsor relations.
• Demonstrated leadership in managing internal teams and external volunteer committees, working across departments and with community partners.
• Proven success in creating and managing high-profile events, fundraising, and building relationships with sponsors and vendors.
• Proficiency in digital marketing, social media, and content creation to support fundraising and event promotion.
• Experience in data-driven decision making, marketing evaluation, and performance measurement.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills to build relationships with diverse stakeholders, sponsors, and donors.
• Strong connections within the Philadelphia region, passion for youth development and a commitment to BBBS Independence’s mission and values.
• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills, with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, marketing, CRM, and analytics platforms (Salesforce preferred).
• Flexible to accommodate job responsibilities, including ability to work evenings/weekends as required.
• Daily and dependable access to a car, valid driver’s license, and meet State-required automobile insurance minimums.

WORKING CONDITIONS

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing work in an office environment and include the essential functions of this job. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job: the ability to work independently; remain sedentary for extended periods of time (6+ hours per day); lift 10-15lbs; push, pull, bend kneel, as needed for normal operations. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.